A crystalline oxide of zirconium, used as a diamond simulant and in high-temperature applications.
From the element zirconium, which comes from Arabic 'zarqun' meaning gold-like, through Persian 'zargun'. The '-ia' suffix indicates an oxide compound. The mineral was identified in the late 18th century, but synthetic cubic zirconia wasn't developed until the 1970s.
Cubic zirconia revolutionized both jewelry and scientific applications - it's almost as hard as diamond and has similar optical properties, yet can be manufactured in laboratories. The word's Arabic roots meaning 'gold-like' are ironic since modern zirconia is prized for looking like diamonds rather than gold.
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